The Originals

By Paul L. Underwood

Published: December 3, 2006

When you think of people with great presence -- Fred Astaire, with his silk tie used as a belt; Gianni Agnelli, with his wristwatch over his shirt cuff; Jackie Onassis, with her oversize sunglasses and perfectly tailored silhouette -- you are immediately attuned to the world of style. These sorts of unique personalities, famous and otherwise, are the inspiration for ''The Originals,'' T's continuing celebration of present-day emblems of individuality. Frankly, we were sick of seeing actresses on the red carpet in ensembles that had been carefully (a tad too carefully) assembled by a team of so-called experts. Or women on the best-dressed list who rarely shopped for their own clothes. Instead, we select men and women who rely on their own precise and fascinating judgment when they put themselves together. After all, what you wear and how you decide to present yourself are indications of your sensibility, your mood, your idea of yourself in the world. These 12 Originals all have what it takes.

Stephanie Seymour | Model, Collector

With the same passion she once had for modeling, Stephanie Seymour is building an art collection with her husband, the publisher Peter Brant. The enormous accumulation includes Warhols, Basquiats and more, but her favorite is a sculpture by Jeff Koons. ''I really scrimped and saved -- I put it on layaway, basically,'' Seymour says. The art will form the basis of a foundation -- to be housed in a building renovated by Richard Gluckman -- that they plan to open in Greenwich, Conn., in spring 2008. Seymour also collects art of a different sort: 10 couture evening dresses designed for her by Azzedine Ala? The gowns embody her simple philosophy for staying in style: ''I don't believe in trends.''

Ronnie and Vidal Sassoon | Philanthropists

On the Sassoons' first date 17 years ago, Ronnie asked Vidal, the legendary British hairstylist, a simple question: ''Why in the world are you dyeing it?'' He went natural, and they were married three years later. The couple have devoted themselves to philanthropy, raising money this winter from the hair industry so that Habitat for Humanity can build in New Orleans. (Vidal sold his namesake salons and product line in 1982.) Their own habitat is a Hal Leavitt-designed house in Los Angeles, filled with modern art. Vidal is still a smart dresser -- he likes Hedi Slimane, among others -- with some help from Ronnie. ''Vidal looks really great in clothes, so he's fun to dress,'' she says. He adds, ''I don't look bad without them either.''

Kelis| Pop Star

Her 2003 breakout hit, ''Milkshake,'' brought all the boys to her yard. (Her husband, the rapper Nas, was already there.) Now Kelis is trying to attract the fashion crowd with Cake, a line she hopes to have in shops by fall 2007. Offstage, she culls her girlie-funky style from a range of sources. ''I can shop anywhere from Target to Bergdorf,'' she says. ''It's easy to go to Saks Fifth Avenue and just pick out everything that's designer, but I think a real shopper can go anywhere and find something fabulous.'' She could teach you, but she'd have to charge.

Sean Lennon | Singer, Songwriter, Musician

When he was 26, Sean Lennon had a sartorial revelation while listening to Karl Lagerfeld tell Larry King that there is nothing worse than someone over 20 still wearing shorts and a T-shirt. So Lennon, now 31, spent the next five years ''learning how to dress like a man'' while having his clothes ''reflect his state of mind.'' This explains Lennon's newfound preference for tailored vintage suits, like the one he wears in a self-portrait on the cover of his new album, ''Friendly Fire.''

Emily and Zooey Deschanel | Actresses

By their own accounts, Emily and Zooey Deschanel (from left) don't differ much from their on-screen personae. Emily, the older sister, is cool and collected, like her Indiana Jane-style character on the Fox drama ''Bones,'' while Zooey is gently loopy, as she was in ''Elf'' and ''The Good Girl.'' This is especially true of their individual styles. Emily is a vegan who favors Stella McCartney heels; Zooey prefers classic cocktail dresses to achieve her look, which she calls ''a mid-60's girlie explosion.'' Both like vintage clothes -- Emily mentions the L.A. shop Polka Dots and Moonbeams as a favorite -- but Zooey is the true clothes hound, filling closets, rolling racks and even storage space with her collection. Her prize: a velvet Christmas minidress that once belonged to their mother, the actress Mary Jo Deschanel.

Loulou de la Falaise | Designer, Muse

Before starting her eponymous clothing and accessories line in 2003, Loulou de la Falaise was Yves Saint Laurent's muse (however much she dislikes that term). Though an honor and a privilege, musedom was not without pressure: ''If you forgot to put lipstick on, he wasn't too pleased,'' she recalls. De la Falaise, who just introduced a new jewelry line, Fantaisies, describes her look as ''boyish bohemian.'' But she is not unaware of the passage of time. ''I don't wear miniskirts anymore,'' she says with a laugh. ''I leave that to my daughter.''

Michael Govan, Katherine Ross| Beacons of Art and Style

As leaders in the fields of art and fashion, respectively, Michael Govan and Katherine Ross dress the parts. Govan, the director and chief executive of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and Ross, the senior vice president of communications at LVMH, exchange ideas from their fields as much as their busy schedules will allow. (The couple moved to Los Angeles from New York earlier this year, though ''we're definitely not adjusted,'' says Ross.) Her classic style is all her own, but she gives assistance to her husband. ''She takes care of me,'' Govan says. ''I think the only thing she found me with are some cowboy boots. Everything else has been modified.''

Zoe Cassavetes | Director

For Zoe Cassavetes, style runs in the family: her father was the legendary filmmaker John Cassavetes, and her mother was his leading lady, Gena Rowlands. Now Rowlands will co-star in her daughter's directorial feature debut, ''Broken English,'' to be released next year. ''We had a really fun time,'' Cassavetes says of telling her mother what to do. She also has a toehold in the fashion world; she can often be seen with her best friend, Sofia Coppola, at the Marc Jacobs and Anna Sui shows, though she swears that her only mission is to ''try to not look like I'm a mess.''

Rachel Roy | Designer

Style is more than what you wear, according to Rachel Roy. ''Fashion allows you to tell the story you want to say without even opening your mouth,'' she says. Roy's story begins as a girl at a department store in Northern California, where she couldn't find any school clothes she liked. Now she fills upscale stores with her namesake line, which caters to working women like herself (i.e., those who don't wear jeans). For other stories to tell, she looks to old movies. ''I love how Hitchcock dressed his women,'' she says. ''He always did them classic, but at the same time they were sexy.'' Interviews By Paul L. Underwood